EDITION RECORDS’ impressive relationship with Scandinavian and other European artists, forged over the past few years, continues with pianist and composer Eyolf Dale’s Wolf Valley.

Having previously released a handful of solo albums in his native Norway, as well as appearing as sideman on many recordings (including tubist Daniel Herskedal’s Slow Eastbound Train), Dale’s compositional expertise is brought to life here by broader forces – a colourful and adaptable octet of piano, bass and saw, drums, tenor sax and clarinet, trumpet, trombone, vibraphone and violin. Greatly influenced by classical music, jazz, improvisation – and, most likely, the folksongs and landscapes of his homeland – the pianist’s eclectic output is distinct in its compositional spaciousness and instrumental diversity. Within such a spirit of invention, numerous musical boundaries are traversed, providing so many rich discoveries along the way.

Dale’s scaleable and constantly fluctuating episodes – one moment ‘big band’, then ‘chamber orchestra’ or ‘minimal atmospheric’ – are the key to these nine generous tracks. For example, gentle horn grooves in opener Furet are embellished by coruscating vibes and bluesy piano; and all at once the mood drifts into the cinematic longing of Fernanda, whose attractive, flowing undercurrent is elaborated upon by lyrical clarinet and violin, swelled by Dale’s beautiful eight-piece orchestration. Based on a previously-recorded improvised organ chorale, Shostachoral‘s sustained progress, featuring André Roligheten’s gruff, melancholic tenor, is reminiscent of John Surman or Jan Garbarek; and Ban Joe‘s folksy animation (cannily resembling a banjo accompaniment) pauses delicately amongst vibraphone ripples before breaking into exuberant piano jazz – but stay focused… this musical journey keeps moving on!

Eyolf Dale and his accomplished personnel breathe so much into this vast panoply of creative ideas, presenting a recording which is a pleasure to delve into more and more deeply – and it’s bound to remain a favourite for some considerable time. Thank goodness for our resolute, European, musical connections.

Released on 10 June 2016, Wolf Valley (direct translation: Eyolf = Wolf, Dale = Valley) is available as CD and high-quality download at Bandcamp.